Embarrassed Zimbabwean coach hopes for a better performance in ODI’s

Wellington: Zimbabwe national coach Alan Butcher is hoping for an improved performance from his team in the one-day series against New Zealand.

Zimbabwe were bundled out for 51 and 143 in both innings of the solitary Test match against the Kiwi’s and lost by a record innings and 301 runs at McLean Park.

He claimed that his team was embarrassed after their humiliating defeat. “They were embarrassed [in the dressing room] and they should have been.

They all felt we let ourselves down badly and that we hadn`t given a good account of ourselves,” Butcher was quoted as saying by a website..

However, Butcher insisted the team had to keep working hard to reach the level at which they were five to six years back, as his team sweated hard in a three-hour net session yesterday before a team discussion on their performance took place.

Zimbabwe won their last one-day against New Zealand in a high-scoring contest in Bulawayo, and this could spark some improvement in the team.

“That will be in their minds; to know we can compete in a much better fashion than we did in the test match.”

“We`ve got to. If we keep losing like that, then we`ll find ourselves back where we were five or six years ago,” he added.